Mission Training
I'm doing a separate post for mission training because this week's training was so important for all members of the church who are interested in sharing the Book of Mormon.
Last week's training's message was simply keep in touch with the people you introduce the restored church to. President Lusvardi told us a story, in pictures of a family he taught in Argentina when he was a young missionary, and then kept in touch with them over the years, up until the sealing in the temple of one of the children to his wife. We were told on our missions to not even write to people we had contacted. The fear was that people join the church because of a friendship with the missionaries, rather than a conviction that the church is the restored church of Jesus Christ. Interesting how things change and we learn how to do things better.
Which brings me to this week's training. President Lusvardi reports that we are giving away more Book of Mormons than ever before. Flooding the earth as President Benson asked us to do years ago. People take them, but they don't read them. So he invited, via webcam, a mission companion of his that he served with as area mission specialist trainers of mission presidents, President Lee Donaldson. This is what he taught us:
The Book of Mormon combined with the spirit is our most important resource. He pointed out that Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith September 21 - harvest time. This means to me that The Book of Mormon is the reaper of the field that is white, ready to harvest. But we have to get people to read it.
When sharing the Book of Mormon with a friend, start by showing the introduction to 1 Nephi. Read the first lines out-loud because people don't know how to pronounce the names Lehi, Sariah, Nephi, etc. Then do a guided reading, asking questions to help the friend understand what to look for, what is important.
Explained the chapter heading, then asked, "What is the first word of verse 1?" I. "Tell me about your parents." They were good. " If they are good, what do they do?" Then have them read the first verse.
"Would you like to know the mysteries of God? You will learn this in this book."
Go to verse 4 and explain the background history of Jerusalem and talk about what it means to repent.
Continue selecting verses to read together, ending with verse 12 - As he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord. "That's my promise to you."
President Lee explained that just handing our friends the Book of Mormon is incomplete. We won't share it the same with each person. Where we start in the Book of Mormon will depend on what their questions are. In chapter 5 of Preach My Gospel are questions of the soul that people ask, and where to find the answers in the Book of Mormon.
If you have read this, and don't know about the Book of Mormon, have someone who does read it with you, or at least be available to answer your questions.
I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because of some counsel I read in Alma 32:27 If ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. The passage goes on to explain that after that desire, faith will grow, eventually into knowledge, and knowledge is what I was after. Not the knowledge of the world, which was contradictory and ever changing, but something solid, certain. And so I embarked on a great experiment, giving place to God's words, from the Book of Mormon, the Bible, the ancient prophets and the living prophets. And this has given me a solid foundation to live my life on. I hope you will accept Alma's invitation, and experiment by reading the Book of Mormon, but read it with the help of a friend who is familiar with it.
We've had a lot of good mission trainings, but I think this one might prove to be the most useful to me both here on my official mission, but more so after I leave.
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